The landscape of the NFL has undergone a seismic shift this week, punctuated by the shocking resignation of Mike Tomlin from the Pittsburgh Steelers. His departure officially brings the number of head coaching vacancies to nine, a figure that signals a massive reset for nearly a third of the league. Just a few months ago, Tomlin stood as the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, closely followed by his perennial rival John Harbaugh now with the New York Giants. With both legends now out of the picture, along with Kevin Stefanski, who managed to lead the Cleveland Browns to two of their three playoff appearances this century, the AFC North is unrecognizable.
This leaves the Cincinnati Bengals’ Zac Taylor as the lone survivor in the division, though he will undoubtedly enter next season on the hot seat if results don’t improve. At the top of the mountain, Andy Reid (Chiefs, hired 2013) now holds the title of the league’s elder statesman, followed by the 2017 trio of Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, and Sean McDermott, all of whom are still competing in the divisional round.
NFL 2026 Coaching Cycle Faces 2021 Déjà vu
Having nine head coaching vacancies at once is a staggering reality, but it is not entirely unprecedented. We saw a similar purge following the 2021 season when 10 teams were searching for new leaders. However, looking back at that class provides a grim warning for this year’s candidates, only two of those ten hires in 2022 are still with their original teams.
Kevin O’Connell has found a rhythm with the Minnesota Vikings after taking over from the long-serving Mike Zimmer, and Todd Bowles remains at the helm of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being promoted from defensive coordinator following Bruce Arians’ retirement. The rest of that 2021 class has been completely wiped away.
The failure rate from that specific cycle is eye-opening. The Jacksonville Jaguars have already moved from Doug Pederson to Liam Coen; the Chicago Bears replaced Matt Eberflus with Ben Johnson; and the Denver Broncos saw the disastrous Nathaniel Hackett era end quickly before turning to Sean Payton. Even teams that initially looked promising, like the New York Giants with Brian Daboll or the Miami Dolphins with Mike McDaniel, have opted for a total reset this week.
The list continues with the Raiders, who fired Josh McDaniels only to find themselves now holding the first overall pick without a coach, and the Saints, who replaced Dennis Allen with Kellen Moore. This historical “churn” suggests that while owners are quick to pull the trigger on a firing, finding a coach that actually survives the three-year mark is becoming increasingly rare.
New Coaches in 2025 Created the 2026 Chaos
The frenzy to hire new coaching talent is largely being driven by the immediate success of first-year coaches this season. Mike Vrabel with the Patriots, Ben Johnson with the Bears, and Liam Coen with the Jaguars have all transformed their franchises into contenders almost overnight. Crucially, each of these coaches benefited from having elite young quarterbacks at their disposal-players drafted first and third overall who can mask a team’s deficiencies.
This has created a “quarterback envy” among the nine teams looking for a coach, where the focus isn’t just on the man with the clipboard, but on the arm under center. Among the teams currently searching for a leader, the Baltimore Ravens are in a unique position, as they have an established superstar in Lamar Jackson. Meanwhile, the New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans have already started building their teams around young quarterbacks Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward.
The Las Vegas Raiders hold the ultimate trump card with the first overall pick, putting them in the driver’s seat to draft Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. While the names on the market like McDaniel, Tomlin, and Stefanski, are elite, they will likely be wary of walking into situations where their future is tied entirely to a young quarterback’s learning curve.
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